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That's what the parent said: there were previous chances to definitively end the experiment by observing drips, but no-one thought to monitor it with a video ca

• RobAley 13y ago
  No, they said "It sounds like the experiment, as designed, reached a conclusion". As designed it didn't, as they didn't include camera-based observation in the design, the design called for someone to notice the drip to prove the viscosity of the substance, and that didn't happen until now. Maybe it was a badly planned experiment (or more likely, the cost/availability of cameras in those days prohibited their inclusion in the plans). Nevertheless, no firm conclusion can be drawn that the experiment could have been ended early, those previous "drips" may not have happened without external forces applied and so even if cameras had been used it may not have ended until now. Its probably likely that it would have ended had cameras been available, but the scientific method generally calls for a greater degree of certainty than "probably likely" before calling an experiment a success. And of course, it is called an "experiment", not a "certainty". Mistakes happen and they're not always optimal, that’s all part of the fun of science!